Flutter
by garrchomped
Summary: Haru finds himself with an odd, fluttering sensation tickling his insides, but is unable to pinpoint just why that is. With the help of a small, winged friend, he finds the source, and gets more than he was expecting.


When was it last he felt this way? He could barely remember. The fluttering sensation in his gut like his interior was teasing him, the tightness of his chest that made his heart feel like it was going to burst, and the ridiculous feeling of overwhelming, childish joy hadn't made itself known for years. It wasn't since the day he had encountered a shimmering, glistening, and gorgeous waterfall that butterflies had made a home in his belly, tickling his insides with flitting wings that didn't seem like they would stop. Those wings had long since died out, and would never resurface again- so he thought.

It was strange for him to say the least. He was a boy unaffected by most unless it related to the water he so loved and sometimes his friends, but this.. What was affecting him so much that he was feeling like this? Could it be that it was because they got to swim with Samezuka's team often at their joint practices now that him and Rin were on much better terms? Or perhaps it was the promise of mackerel on sale at the local grocery store he was planning to go to after school? No, neither of those could be it. After all, the butterflies have been happening for quite some time now, but only now caught Haru's attention.

He sat on the edge of the pool with his knees drawn up to his chest as he watched his teammates fool around, his hand idly breaking the surface of the water as it drew nonsensical patterns in the liquid. Could it just be his love of swimming and time spent with friends that has affected him so? That wouldn't make sense, would it? Butterflies didn't appear for that sort of thing, not from what he had heard about them at least. From what he knew, butterflies were that thing that you supposedly got when you had a crush or were near the person you liked. But Haru didn't have anyone he liked. He couldn't have, could he?

As if to ponder that question with him, a small white butterfly fluttered into Haruka's view, almost dancing across the water of the pool with seemingly choreographed movements until it drew closer to him. Slowly, and without sudden movements, he brought his hand up on which the butterfly gladly perched itself.

What beautiful things they were, bringing no harm to anyone, but filling gardens with beauty and gracing everywhere they went with a sense of peace. But unlike the creature perched on his hand, the ones in the pit of his stomach brought him a sense of unease along with an uncalled for giddy feeling. Maybe he really did have a crush. Or maybe he was just out of it since he had never noticed his butterflies before today.

"If only you could give me an answer.." Haruka murmured to the butterfly as he examined it, moving his fingers as it walked across his hand. So fragile, yet so bold. That was something he admired about butterflies. They could be crushed in an instant, but they never feared the ones that approached them, instead choosing to delight in their company for if only a moment. And that moment for Haru was over.

The butterfly fluttered off of Haru's hand, hovering in front of his face for a moment, before leisurely making its way across the pool. Haru had just let out another sigh before he watched the butterfly land on someone else.

_**Flutter flutter**_

There they were again as Haru's eyes focused in on the person who was the butterfly's new landing spot of choice. Beautiful amethyst eyes set in a handsome face, a smile that felt like an angel's, well-kept cobalt hair, and just the most pleasant aura to be graced with had Haruka's head spinning in confusion.

_Rei?!_ he thought to himself, eyes widening ever so slightly. _He_ was the cause of all this? But that didn't make sense. Rei was his newest friend and an ear that offered to listen if ever he needed it which- on very few occasions- he took advantage of, especially if he was having a particularly rough time with anything or everything, but why would that make him the source of these butterflies? Sure, they had been hanging out more than usual, but it just didn't make any sense. Not right now.

Groaning at his newfound frustration with himself, Haru slipped himself into the pool before him, and let himself glide through the water, coaxing himself to relax as his mind searched for answers. His teammates must have noticed something was wrong because, by the time he surfaced, their attention had been turned in his direction, and Makoto was carefully approaching.

"Is there something wrong, Haru?" asked Makoto, brows slightly upturned with a bit of worry.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Always double-checking.

"I said I'm fine." The words came in a curt snap as Haru dove back down into the water, wanting to escape until he found the answer he was looking for. It seemed like Makoto had understood he needed his time alone, and, from beneath the water, Haruka saw him return to where he was, allowing Haru to drift in peace.

At some point he had come to surface, but his eyes remained closed as he floated across the top of the clear blue, taking a relaxed breath as he finally started to settle. He hadn't come to a conclusion yet, unfortunately for him, but at least he got the butterflies in his stomach to die down a bit. Now he could enjoy the rest of practice without some silly fluttering distracting him.

As his body drifted across the pool aimlessly, it eventually bumped into something.

Thinking it was just the wall, Haru got to his feet so he could turn and change directions, but, once he did, he noticed he had bumped into Rei, and the butterflies returned full force along with a light blush to Haru's cheeks.

"S-sorry, Rei." Since when did he stutter? Haru looked away immediately, embarrassed of the pink painting itself across his face, growing by the second, and he hoped that Rei hadn't noticed. All of this was the butterflies fault.

"Oh, Haruka-senpai, don't worry about it," came Rei's reply with a polite and kind smile as he turned to face the other. "Makoto-senpai told us we should leave you be and that you needed some time to yourself, so I do hope you're feeling better." Haruka nodded in response.

That was Rei. Always **polite and caring**. It was one of the reasons Haru liked being around him so much. Rei put so much effort into things to make sure they were the best they could be whether it be projects and papers or even his swim stroke, and it was reflected in his intelligence, grades, and performance. Haru, on the other hand, put minimal effort into his work, and still somehow managed to pass with good grades.

And **that smile**. Wow. Rei's smile was one of those rare ones that could light up the world. Though he was seemingly rather serious, you could always find a smile curling his lips, and it was heavenly.

And **those lips**.. They looked so soft. Haru wondered what they felt like on his own.

**He had fallen faster than he could have imagined.**

He found himself instinctively leaning closer as his mind thought about what it would be like to kiss Rei, how their bodies would feel against each other in an embrace, and how it would be to hold Rei's hand tenderly, lovingly. Thankfully, he caught himself before it was too late, freezing in his tracks as his blush intensified, before taking a step back and submerging himself again, wanting to cool off from such an unexpected event, and left Rei standing there with his own reddened face, wondering what had just happened.

Haruka chided himself mentally, cursing that his mind allowed him to think such things about his friend. Where did that all even come from? Sure, he found himself looking at the butterfly swimmer more than the others, admiring his determination to master such a difficult stroke and he practiced day in and day out, and, sure, maybe he purposefully bumped into him a few times, and maybe relished his company more than anyone else's and- Oh. He did have a crush on him, didn't he? Shit. This wasn't good. If Rei ever found out, that would probably be the end of their friendship, and, if Nagisa found out, he could kiss the secrecy of that crush goodbye knowing the boy's big mouth.

Haru resurfaced at the end of the pool opposite of where everyone was, and refused to look back at them, not wanting to look Rei in the face just now while his heart pounded in his ears from discovering the conclusion to the butterflies. He stood there with his arms crossed of the edge of the pool, chin resting upon his forearm, as he willed himself to calm. Swim practice was going to be awkward.

The rest of practice went by normally, well, as normally as it could with Haruka avoiding Rei's gaze as much as he could though he could feel he was being watched. He probably owed Rei an apology after something so awkward and sudden, but how could he face him today? He just shrugged it off as they went to change, but oh god. Despite his best effort to ignore him and act as he normally did, Haru couldn't stop sneaking glances over at Rei as the team changed out of their swimsuits and back into their uniforms now that he finally sourced his problem. Fortunately, Rei didn't seem to notice.

Haru was the last one finished changing even with Makoto's attempt to take his time, and stood there just staring at the ground, a very unusual thing for him.

"Are you okay?" Makoto's voice broke through the silence that had overtaken them, placing a gentle hand on Haruka's shoulder. "Do you need to talk?"

"..." Haruka replied only with silence for the time being, conflicted about sharing the news of his crush with Makoto or not. While they were best friends of many years and did almost everything together, there was something about telling him about his crush- on another boy, at that- that made him more agitated with his indecisiveness. As he struggled to decide, a light blush coated his cheeks, eyebrows furrowing, while he fought an internal battle.

"Haru..?" Makoto must have noticed the pink that was spreading across Haru's face because a grin made its way onto his lips. "Is there something you're not telling me?" The way he said it was teasing, his ever-widening grin re-enforcing it.

"Shut up," Haru grumbled, looking off to the side. Looking back only seconds later and catching a glimpse of the curiosity and excitement in Makoto's eyes, Haru gave a sigh in defeat. "It's Rei. I think I like him more than a friend." Makoto raised his eyebrows as he let out a chuckle.

"You've only just noticed, Haru?" he asked, that smile still plastered on his face, probably from the rare event of having this conversation with his best friend.

_Just noticed? What does he mean?_

As if to read his mind, Makoto chuckled again. "It's been noticeable for quite some time now, at least to me, Gou, and Rin. We've all seen the side glances you take at Rei during practices and even after school or when we all walk together. But don't worry. I don't think Rei's noticed yet."

Shit. This wasn't good. If what Makoto said was true, and Rei actually hadn't caught on yet, then surely he was starting to with what had just happened that day at practice.

Haru just sighed and gathered his stuff. "Let's go."

Thinking things couldn't get worse, he opened the door to leave only to be met with Rei who seemed to be waiting for him outside the door.

_**Flutter, flutter**_

"R-Rei," Haruka said in surprise, face paling and eyes widening. He willed himself to move, to act normal, but his feet wouldn't budge no matter how much his mind told them to.

Makoto came up behind him only seconds later, and chuckled as he saw Rei standing across from them. "Hello, Rei."

"Good evening, Haruka-senpai, Makoto-senpai," Rei replied with a smile as he tucked the book he was reading away in his backpack that sat at his feet.

"I'll be waiting for you outside, Haru," Makoto stated with an encouraging smile, patting Haru on the shoulder before walking away. Haruka was just about to reach for Makoto's sleeve when he was met with a pair of green eyes looking at him from over the shoulder, silently telling him to go on and that things would be okay. Haru frowned at him before looking away with a small pout. How dare he just leave him like that.

"Ah, Haruka-senpai-" Rei started, but cut himself off, turning his gaze off to the side. Haru knew well what he was going to ask, and knew there would be no avoiding it now.

"Sorry.. for earlier. I just.." This was unlike him, unsure of what words to say. Wasn't he usually blunt? If so, why couldn't he just spit it out. "I like you, Rei. As more than a friend, I think. That's what these butterflies are supposedly telling me, anyways... And I-"

"You like me, Haruka-senpai?" Rei cut in. As Haru turned his head to look at him again, violet irises stared at him, shimmering with something that Haruka had never quite seen before.

"Drop the 'senpai' already. It's annoying," he huffed with another small annoyed pout. "I already said it once, and I don't need-"

He was cut off again, but this time it wasn't with words. Soft lips pressed against his own, probably to shut him up more than anything- after all, he was talking more than usual- and a deep blush rose to his cheeks as realization set in. "R-Rei?!"

Rei stepped back to where he was, rubbing the back of his neck as his own blush painted his cheeks, eyes looking away. "I-I like Haruka-senpai as well, actually, which is why I waited here to talk to you today. The way you behaved earlier at practice added a variable which threw off the conclusion I had come to about you not harboring any feeling towards me in return, so I thought I'd approach you about it.."

Made sense. Haruka had never done something quite like that with anyone ever, so it was given that it would throw anyone off.

"So I was wondering, Haruka-sen-" Haru narrowed his eyes at Rei as soon as he heard the honorific start to slip off his tongue. "-Haruka.. Would you like to go out with me?"

Haru just nodded his reply, the faintest of smiles playing on his lips. Maybe these butterflies weren't so bad. After all, he had just snagged another butterfly, but this one was more beautiful than the rest.


End file.
